The disruption to sea freight services persists with bad weather off the Cape of Good Hope adding to delays, and political unrest significantly disrupts supply chains in Bangladesh.
Ongoing Delays to Sea Freight Services
The Red Sea conflict continues to cause market disruptions, with sea routes around Africa soaking up capacity. Ports in Asia and Europe face congestion due to increased volumes and slow returns of empty equipment. Rough seas off the Cape of Good Hope have worsened delays.
Space Scarcity: Longer routes around the Cape are reducing available capacity, driving rates to pandemic highs due to increased demand and limited space.
High Demand: With China’s Golden Week approaching, the rush to ship goods to the UK is intensifying. Retailers are eager to avoid Christmas stock shortages, keeping demand high.
Acute Port Challenges: Asian and European ports are grappling with severe congestion, forcing ships to wait offshore and causing some carriers to skip ports like Singapore, shifting the strain to Malaysia’s Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas. The feeder port of Yangon in Myanmar is now also experiencing severe congestion and delays. Key Chinese ports are also facing delays, such as Ningbo and Shanghai. Equipment shortages are widespread in Asia, with shortages prevalent in Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, India, Cambodia, and Thailand.
We are experiencing significant disruption to vessel schedules and longer transit times. Unfortunately, we anticipate that supply chain disruptions will endure throughout August and up to Golden Week.
Political Unrest in Bangladesh
The unrest in Bangladesh has significantly disrupted supply chains over the last week. Communication has been challenging, although it is improving with the return of the internet, which remains unstable. The government has not yet announced whether the curfew will continue next week. Regardless of when normality resumes, disruptions are likely to persist due to a backlog of export shipments, with numerous container ships waiting to berth and air freight shipments delayed at Dhaka airport.
While it is good news that the troubles have stopped for now, there is still uncertainty about the continuation of the curfew next week. Although we cannot predict future developments, we are continually monitoring the situation. Regular updates will be provided to keep you informed.
We are monitoring the situation continually and looking for solutions to minimise disruptions and will continue to provide regular updates to keep you informed. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your shipment, please contact our Customer Service Team at 01376 533039.
